Have You Planned Your Finances Yet?

Although it is nearly the end of January already (how?!), planning your yearly finances is so important. Have you planned yours yet?

Saga recently got in touch about their #SagaPlanYourYear which is all about encoring people to plan their finances for the year ahead. I said I would love to be involved! For me, planning and being organised is key to success. When it comes to your finances, knowledge is power. Always!

The #SagaPlanYourYear campaign is run by the Equity Release branch of Saga. This service provides is for those over 55+ who are looking to release equity from their home to use for other things such as home improvements or travel, which is why it can be used to gain greater control of your finance

It got me thinking about what I want to achieve with our finances this year. I have already done a post about my 2017, which does outline most of these. However, I have been thinking about the little things that I can do to help myself.

I’m going to continue to meal plan. I think meal planning can really help you save money! By writing a meal plan, it means you only buy what you need when you go food shopping. I do this every week and by being organised means I am saving money.
I’m going to continue to monitor our budget. By tracking our income and outgoings, it means I know exactly where our money is going. Even if this means writing it down for pen and paper, in my handy filofax, it means more information to use. I tend to write things down, plus I have a spreadsheet that tracks our spending as well.
Sell more things that we no longer need. I have mentioned quite a bit about our quest to declutter, but that can more extra pennies for our pot! Selling online takes a bit of time, but it is worth it in the end.
Check online banking each day. Just seeing the exact balance is motivating. Also, knowing what direct debits are going out and how much they are.
Check we’re getting the best deals. We have things like car insurance, life insurance, tv/broadband and mobile phone contracts. Every so often, check that you’re on the best deal! We recently managed to secure a better deal on our tv and broadband just by phoning up. It saves us over £20 a month, which is £240 a year! It all adds up 🙂
Track my No Spend Days! I personally think that having NSDs really does help me manage my own finances. Not spending during the week can only have a positive impact on them, long term.
Check with your bank for a review. They can tell you whether you’re getting the best mortgage rates and saving rate, or whether you can change to something better. If you can’t, maybe look at changing banks!

All of these little things will help me manage my own finances even better this year. I am fairly good at budgeting, but everyone can do better than they are currently doing! Of course, if you are managing your own finances, then you are in charge of what happens. That is quite motivating.